High speed web punching device



Dec. 14, 1965 l. TORNBERG ETAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1963 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY Wilford J. Armsron don E ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 1. TORNBERG ETAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE Filed March 1s, 1965 I 7 sheets-sheet 2 FIGURE 2 2 Z Z Odon E. Sugar ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 l. TORNBERG ETAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 28 @a |IIIIIIIIIU INVENTORS Isidor Tornberg Harvey M. Broad BY Wilford J. Armstrong FIGURE 3 @d ynslm ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 l. TORNBERG ETAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS lsidor Tornberg Harvey M. Broad FIGURE 4 BY Wilford J. Armstrong BZ Z Odon E. Sugoi ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 l. TORNEI-:RG ETAL HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 19, 1963 M ON INVENTORS Isidor Tornberg Harvey M. Broad glford J. Armsfron n E. Sugar TTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 1. TORNBERG r-:TAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE med March 19, 196s rr sheets-sheet e FIGURE G FIGURE GA FIGURE 9 INVENTORS Isidor Tornberg Harvey M. Brood BY Wilford J. Armstrong EZ Z Odon E. Sugar ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1965 TQRNBERG ETAL 3,222,966

HIGH SPEED WEB PUNCHING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIGURE 7 Mil INVENTORS lsdor Tornberg Harvey M. Broad BY Wilford J. Armstrong ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,222,966 HEGH SPEED WEB PUNClHNG DEVICE Isidor Tornherg, Plainfield, NJ., Harvey M. Broad, Huntington, N .Y., and Wilford J. Armstrong, Point Pleasant,

and Odon E. Sugar, Edison, NJ., assignors to Newsday,

Inc., Garden City, N.Y.

Filed Mar. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 266,300 7 Claims. (Cl. 83-98) This invention relates in general to web-handling and converting machinery, and more specifically to the methods and machines used to produce perforations or punched holes of any shape in a rapidly moving web of paper, plastic, textiles, and similar materials. The apparatus of the invention readily applicable, for example, to providing a thumb index for a newspaper.

A proper understanding of the details and manner of operation of both the present invention and some of the more common prior art proposals will be gained by referring to the following description thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a stylized isometric view of the invention, wherein various components have been sectioned and cut-away in order to clarify the description of the construction and workings thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of certain components of the invention which serve to control it during operation, and which have been shown in an exploded relationship to assist in a clear description;

FIGURE 3 is an isometric View of certain additional components of the invention, namely the pad holder assembly, which serves to facilitate the fabrication and assist in the economical operation of the invention, and which has been shown in an exploded relationship to assist in a clear description;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of certain additional components of the invention, namely the punch holder assembly, which serves to facilitate the fabrication and assist in the economical operation of the invention, and which has been shown in an exploded relationship to assist in a clear description;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric View of certain additional components of the invention, namely the trolley and trolley control assembly, which serves to control the invention during its operation, and which has been shown in an exploded relationship to assist in a clear description;

FIGURES 6 and 6A are stylized cross-sectional views which illustrate the action of the punch and the pad components of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a stylized schematic view of the essential components in an existing method of web-punching;

FIGURE 8 is a stylized isometric view of the essential components in another existing method of web-punching; and

FIGURE 9 is a stylized schematic view showing the method of gathering webs to lead through punching cylinders.

Prior to considering the present invention in detail, it will be advantageous to consider two of the prior devices used in punching moving webs.

As shown schematically in FIGURE 7, a moving web 127 can be punched at a reasonable speed by a system wherein a number of identical sets of punches 128 and dies 129 are mounted on drums or wheels 130, 131, with the surface speed of the die drum 131 synchronized to match that of the web 127 which passes between it and the punch drum 130.

Even though this method of web-punching embodies several distinct limitations and disadvantages, it has been rather widely employed in a variety of applications be- "ice the equipment which this system requires is relatively inexpensive to build and to operate where high speeds are not required.

The punch and die sets are round 132 when new but, because they pass into and out of mesh in much the same manner as do gear teeth, the punches and dies tend through wearing action to gradually shape themselves into a complex elliptical conguration 133 and therefore to punch elliptical holes in the web.

Punch and die clearances are critical, particularly when running thin webs. Therefore, periodic reductions in punch and die clearances must be made in order to cornpensate for wear.

Normal practice is to fix the punch pins 12S and the dies 129 rigidly in their respective drums, and to adjust the punch and die clearance when necessary by reducing the center to center distance between the rolls. This method is advantageous in that it provides a uniform reduction in clearance on all punches and dies across axis x-y, it is relatively easy to do, and it provides reasonable die life when running thin stock.

Unfortunately, when the Wear on the dies at points z has increased the effective punch and die clearance 134 across axis v-w beyond the original outside diameter 135 of the punch, the punch and die sets must be discarded because they will no longer punch clean in the area of points z.

A majority deficiency inherent in this system is that, due to the critical nature of the punch and die clearances, the maximum speed at which the system can be operated is generally well below the most protable operating speed for the equipment on which it is installed. Appreciable quantities of lint are produced in paper punching operations, particularly with this system, and the abraiding action of this lint is tolerably low at moderate web speeds. However, at the higher surface speeds ernployed in modern web-handling equipment, generally upwards of 800 to 1,000 feet per minute, the abraiding action of the lint becomes destructive to a degree where the operation of this system is no longer practical or profitable.

In .another and more recently developed web-punching system, as shown in FIGURE 8, by positioning two spark-gap electrodes 136, 137, opposite each other and feeding the moving web 138 between the faces of the electrodes, it is possible to burn or, literally, to blow a hole 139 in the moving web 138 by passing a high energy electrical discharge from the face of the one electrode and through the web to the face of the other electrode.

The power consumption of any such spark-gap system is generally high, because most papers, plastics, and textiles are good electrical insulators. Therefore, such systems are usually limited to the punching of relatively thin webs. Any increase in the thickness and/or the dielectric strength of the web will require a proportionate increase in the power output of the system, and a disproportionately greater increase in the systems total overload capacity. These requirements make it prohibitively expensive to build, install and operate a spark-gap system for the punching or perforating of any but the thinnest web materials.

Waste punch-out material disposal is another facet of the spark-gap system which can at once be both an advantage and a problem, depending upon the requirements of the finished product. The spark-gap system is advantageous in that it does not produce confetti, and thereby eliminates the confetti collecting and disposal nuisance common to most rotating punch and die systems. The spark discharge causes the punched-out material to `disintegrate, so to speak, into very small particles which can be collected almost completely with exhaust ducts.

A disadvantage of the system is that, under some frequently encountered combinations of humidity and temperature, and depending upon various common characteristics of web materials, small but nonetheless troublesome bits and pieces of the incompletely disintegrated Waste punch-outs tend to cling to the moving web, being attracted thereto by residual static charges on the webs surface.

Ozone produced by the potential across the spark-gap can cause a continuing corrosion problem in the operation of this system. The corrosion can be negligible or serious by degrees, depending upon an iniinitely variable interaction of many factors, the more important of which are web material, electrode material, intensity, duration, and frequency of the spark discharge, humidity and temperature; and the physical characteristics of the equipment upon which the spark-gap system is installed.

Corrosion is not conned to the immediate area of the spark-gap installation. Ozone (O3) is an allotropic form of oxygen which readily decomposes (O3- Oz-l-O) in the presence of heat and/or humidity. While very active chemically, the ozone and its decomposition products are for the most part collected by the exhaust system, and the chemical corrosion is thereby confined almost completely to the exhaust system components. However, the balance of the interconnected pressroom equipment is placed in an anodic condition by the minute but nonetheless continuous concentration of oxygen in the immediate area of the spark-gap installation. Electrochemical corrosion is thereby accelerated throughout the equipment upon which the spark-gap system is installed.

In view of the above-enumerated deficiencies in prior art web-punching machines, it is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a machine which will punch one or several webs moving at high speed, so that the equipment on which it is installed can be run at full speed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a webpunching machine which is economical to operate, which is substantially automatic, and has a durability at least equal to the equipment on which it is installed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a web-punching machine which is sufficiently versatile to punch a variety of web materials and thicknesses, either single or multiple webs, and at Varying rates of speed, al1 without affecting the quality of the punch.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a webpunching machine in which punch and die clearances are not critical, and in which punch-outs are quickly and economically removed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a webpunching machine which can either be installed as a modification of or accessory to existing web-treating machines or which will function as a self-contained punching machine.

Various other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of one embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

With reference to FIGURE l, the basic components of the invention are first, two cylinders, namely a punch cylinder 55 and a pad cylinder 27, which are positioned with their axes parallel to each other and their faces separated by an air gap which may, for illustration, be about .010 inch. A drag roller 124 and a trolley assembly indicated generally at 161 and shown in detail in FIGURE 5 are positioned adjacent to the punch cylinder 55 and pad cylinder 27. In operation, the web is led from the last idler rolls in the printing equipment, over the trolley wheels 141, under the drag roller 124, and into the nip 142 (FIGURE 9) between the punch cylinder 55 and the pad cylinder 27.

The operation of this machine which implements our invention can be best explained by first describing its construction. As shown in FIGURE 1, the pad cylinder 27 is constructed with an outer shell 26 into which, on the control end, is fitted a shoulder spacer 19. A similar spacer designated as a cylinder cap and bearing housing 41 is tted into the shell 26 on its opposite or drive end. A hollow inner shell 40 connects and is tightly itted into the shoulder spacer 19 and the bearing housing and cylinder cap 41. Bosses 38 are welded or otherwise affixed to the inner shell 40. These bosses 38 are shown positioned in FIGURE 1 as they would be on a machine designed spccifically to punch thumb-indexing notches in a tabloid newspaper. Other requirements may dictate that a greater or lesser number of bosses be located on the shell, or that they be located in different positions, in any required arrangement.

As shown assembled in FIGURE 1 and exploded for the sake of clarity in FIGURE 3, the faces of the bosses 38 are machined flat and normal to the center line of the inner shell 46. Holes 39 (FIGURE 3) are drilled and tapped in the face of each boss. Spacers 36 are aihxed to the bosses 38 with socket head cap screws 35. The clearance holes in the spacers 36 are counterbored so that at assembly, the heads of the socket head cap screws are fully recessed into the face of the spacers 36.

Again referring to FIGURE 3, two holes 37 are drilled and tapped into the face of the spacers 36. These tapped holes 37 accept the socket head cap screws 31 which lock the pad holder body 32 into the pad cylinder shell 26. The pad holder body is machined and fashioned with a shoulder 143 which mates with matching shoulders 144 (FIGURE l) machined in the face of the pad cylinders outer shell 26. The face of the pad holder body 145 is machined on a radius which matches the radius of the outer shell 26, so that when assembled, the face of the pad holder body 145 and the face of the outer shell 26 match to form a smooth, uninterrupted surface.

Two, holes 33 are bored in the pad holder body 32. Pads 28 made of polyurethane or another suitable resilient material are cemented or otherwise secured yto pad mounting plugs 29, and these assembled components slip-fit into the holes 33 in the pad holder body 32. The pad and mounting plug assemblies 28, 29 are retained in the pad holder body 32 by means of spring Iloaded pins 34 whose heads snap lightly into matching retaining grooves 30 which are machined into the walls of the pad mounting plugs 29. Alternatively, steel balls held by set screws can be used in place of pins 34, provided groove 30 is made to match the ball.

In normal operation, the pad holder body 32 remains more or less permanently in the pad cylinder 27. The pad and pad mounting plug assemblies 28, 29 are removed by means of an L shaped steel hook which slips into the slot shown in FIGURE 3, interconnecting the two holes 33 in the face of the body 32.

The punch cylinder 55 is assembled in much the same manner as is the pad cylinder 27. An outer shell 26a is aflixed to a hollow inner journal 54 by means of spacers (not shown) on the control and drive ends. As shown assembled and cut-away in FIGURE 1 and exploded for the sake of clarity in FIGURE 4, bosses 67 are welded or otherwise aixed to the hollow journal 54. The faces of these bosses 67 are machined flat and normal to the center line of the journal 54. Holes 68 (FIGURE 4) are drilled and tapped into the face of the bosses 67 to accept the socket head cap screws 63 which fasten the spacers 65 to the bosses 67. The face of the spacers 65 are counterbored so that at assembly the heads of the socket head cap screws 63 are fully recessed. The face of the spacers 65 are drilled and tapped 64 to accept the socket head cap screws 58 which fasten the punch holder body 59 and lock it into the punch cylinder shell.

Again referring to FIGURE 4, holes 60 are bored into the face of the punch holder body 59 to accommodate the punches 56. The holes 60 are bored with their inside diameter matching the outside diameter of the punches, to a predetermined depth and there necked down with a square shoulder to a diameter matching the inside diameter of the punches. The base of the punches 56 rests on this shoulder. Spring loaded set screws 61 are located in the punch holder body 59. The heads of these spring loaded set screws 61 snap into retaining grooves 57 which are machined in the wall of punches 56, and the punches are thus retained in the punch holder body 59.

Holes 66 matching the inside diameter of the punches 56 are bored in the spacer 65, and are counterbored to accept and retain the sealing rings 62. The sea-ling rings 62 protrude slightly above the surface of the spacer 65 when the two are assembled, and serve to seal the bores 66 and 60 in order to prevent the escape of lint and paper punches during the operation of the machine, as will be explained later. Holes 69 matching the inside diameter of the punches 56 are bored through the bosses 67 and the wall of the hollow journal 54. When the spacer 65, the punch body 59, and the punch 56 are assembled in line with the boss 67, the bores 69, 66 and 6i), and the inside bore of the -punch 56 form a smooth, continuous walled bore which is broken only by slight irregularities in the rubber seal ring 62. It is through this bore that the waste punch-outs are packed and transported into the hollow journal 54 and thus transported through its bore 70 to the waste disposal elbow 75 (FIG- URE l), as is fully described hereinbelow.

Referring again to FIGURE l, the punch cylinder journal 54 .is supported on main bearings 53 on both ends. The inner race of these bearings 53 is force fitted on the gudgeons 53a on both ends of the journal 54. On the control end of the journal 54 the inner race is locked securely by the bearing lock nut 51. The outer' race of the main bearings 53 is supported in cast steel bearing housings 52, which are flanged .and bolted to the side frames of the punching machines. The side frames are fabricated from steel plate which has been suitably machined and nished to accept the various components which are affixed to it. The side frames have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity, since construction thereof is obvious to those skilled in the art.

The end of the bore 76 in the pad cylinders hollow journal 54 is machined on the drive side to accommodate the sealing ring 74 and on the control side to accept the end plug 49.

A herringbone drive gear 73 is fitted onto the drive end of the punch cylinder journal 54, and the gear 73 and journal 54 are keyed together with a fitted key 72. Lateral motion or slippage of the gear 73 is prevented by cap screwing it to the drive side end plug of the punch cylinder 55.

In operation, and with particular reference to FIG- URES l and 2, the axis of the punch cylinder 55 remains in a xed location, and the nip opening 142 (FIGURE 9) is increased or decreased yby manipulating the eccentrics 4 which support the stationary eccentric journal Zt of the pad cylinder 27. As partially described previously, the pad cylinder 27 is comprised of an outer shell 26, two end cylinder cap and bearing housings 25, 41, and a hollow inner journal or shell 40. These are assembled as a unit 27, and supported on each end by main bearings 17, whose outer races are locked into the cylinder cap and bearing housing 41 on the drive end by means of the lock nut 42, and allowed to float freely in the shoulder spacer 19 on the control end to permit expansion and contraction of the cylinder during operation. The inner races of the main bearings 17 are locked in place on the eccentric journal 25 (FIGURE 2) by means of the tapered bore adapters 1S, locknuts 15, and lock- Washers 16. The eccentric journal 20 does not rotate.

A herringbone gear 44 is affixed to the pad cylinders drive and cylinder cap and bearing housing 41. The bore in this herringbone gear 44 is sutiiciently large to allow the gear to rotate freely without contacting the eccentric journal 20.

Eccentrics 4 are affixed and keyed 5 to the eccentric journal 20 with keys 5. The eccentrics are supported in a cast steel housing 47 on the drive end and housing 1 on the control end.

As shown assembled in FIGURE l and exploded for the sake of clarity in FIGURE 2, on the control end the eccentric journal 20 and the eccentric 4 are supported in the cast steel housing 1. The housing 1 embodies two cast steel bosses as shown. In each of the bosses a limit screw 3 is located and locked with a jam nut 2. The eccentric 4, as mentioned previously, is keyed to the journal 20 through a key 5 (FIGURE l) and keyway 5 and the keyway 21.

A cast steel drive arm 8 is located on the journal 20 immediately adjacent to the housing and eccentric 1, 4. The bore 9 in the drive arm 8 is smooth, and is dimensioned to a slip tit on the smooth section 22 of the journal 20. The nip limit lug 6 is trapped between the nip limit screws 3 at assembly.

A cast steel yoke 13 is aixed to the journal 20 immediately adjacent to the drive arm 8, by means of keyways 14 and 23 and key 24 (FIGURE 1). The lugs 10 on the yoke 13 straddle the nip control lug 7 on the arm 8 at assembly. The operating nip control screws 12 are jammed tightly against the nip control lug 7 at assembly, and the drive arm 8 and yoke 13 operate as a unit, as will be more fully explained hereinbelow.

A clevis 50 and air cylinder 122 are linked to the drive arm 8 as shown in FIGURE l. In operation, when the piston rod 123 is fully extended as shown in FIGURE l, the drive arm is in its uppermost position, and the nip 142 (FIGURE 9) is open to its widest limit. The nip control and adjustment will be more fully eX- plained hereinbelow.

Referring to FIGURE l, a trolley control cam 46 is aixed to the eccentric journal 20 immediately adjacent to the herringbone gear 44, on the drive end of the pad cylinder 27. A connecting rod assembly 45 is clamped to the cam 46, and is tted with adequate clearance to permit free rotation of the cam 46 within the connecting rod clamp 45. The connecting rod 45 is fabricated from plate steel, and a drilled and tapped steel boss 45a is welded or otherwise affixed to its one end. A connecting rod 79 is fabricated from round steel bar stock, threaded in from the one end for approximately half its length, and for a shorter distance from the opposite end. The short threaded end is screwed into the boss 45a on the connecting rod 45, and the long threaded end is assembled as shown in FIGURE 1, and exploded for the sake of clarity in FIGURE 5 The short threaded end is locked into the boss 45a with jam nut '78. On the long threaded end, wrist pin block 83 is trapped and centered between the balanced springs 81 which are retained by the elastic tensioning nuts and Washers 80a. The turned trunnion 89 (FIG- URE 5 on the wrist pin block 83 is fitted into the bushed bore 90 in the crank arm 84. The wrist pin block 83 is retained in the crank arm by the elastic stop nut 82.

The crank arm S4 is positioned near one end of the trolley control shaft 86, and is retained in position by key and set screw 91. Trolley wheel support and pressure-loading assemblies indicated generally at 151 and 152, respectively, are positioned at intervals on the trolley control shaft as shown in FIGURE l. These assemblies are located in positions which permit the trolley wheel assemblies to run in contact with the web in portions of the printed page commonly called gutters in printing terminology. These gutters are unprinted areas where the page will later be folded or cut.

As shown assembled in FIGURE l and exploded in FIGURE 5, the rocker arm assemblies 151 and pressure-loading assemblies 152 are each comprised as follows. A rocker arm 109 is positioned on the trolley control shaft 86, and its smooth bore 112 is slip-fitted to permit free rotation about the trolley control shaft 86.

Referring to FIGURE 5, two control arms 95 are locked onto the trolley control shaft 86 and secured with keys 93 and set screws 92. The keys 93 are machined with a shallow pocket 94 which accepts the dog-point on set screw 92. This permits set screw 92 to be loosened suiiciently to free its locking force on shaft 86, while retaining its engagement in pocket 94. This permits the complete trolley wheel support and pressure control assembly to be moved on the shaft 86 while at the same time retaining the keys 93 in their respective keyways in the control arms 95. The keyway 88 in the trolley control shaft 86 is cut the full length of the shaft with the exception of the trunnions 87 on each end 0f the shaft, which are not keyed.

A floating nut 99 is slip-fitted into the space between the machined faces of the bosses on the ends of the control arms 95, and is secured in this position by the hexhead dog-pointed wrist-pin screws 96 and the lock washers 97. The dog points on wrist-pin screws 96 engage the shallow bores 98 in the floating nut 99.

A threaded adjustment shaft 101 is backed through the threaded hole in the center of the floating nut 99. A drilled and tapped hand knob 100 is threaded into place on the end of shaft 101 as shown, and is secured by staking A balance and return spring 107 is slipped onto shaft 101 on the end opposite hand knob 100, and is brought to rest against the shoulder or step collar 106 on the shaft 101. A pressure block 104 is then slipped onto shaft 101 and trapped in place by the compression spring 103, washer 102, and elastic stop nut 146.

The pressure block 104 is then positioned in the slot 110 in rocker arm 109, and the rocker arm is rotated slightly until the shallow bores 105 on each side of the pressure block are engaged by the headless wrist-pin screws 108.

The trolley wheels (indicated generally in FIGURE 1 at 141) are assembled as follows. The tire 119, which may variously be fabricated of steel, brass, rubber, or plastic, is press-fitted onto the rim of the wheel body and bearing housing 117. Roller bearing 118 is tted into the bore of the body 117. The outer race of the roller bearing 118 is retained in the body 117 by a shoulder on the one side of the bore in the body 117, as shown, and by the retaining rim 120 on the opposite side. The retaining rim 120 also serves to hold the tire 119 against the retaining rim on the body 117. The retaining rim is secured to the body 117 with six flat head machine screws 121 (one shown).

The assembled wheels are positioned in the slots 111 in the rocker arms 109, and centered between two spacing washers 116. Axle pin 113 is inserted in the bores 115 in the walls of slot 111, through the bore in the bearings 118 and the bores in the spacers 116. Axle pin 113 is locked in position with socket head set screw 114.

The drag roller 124 (FIGURE 1) is constructed as a steel shell with gudgeons 125 press-fitted and welded in each end. The shell and the gudgeons are roughmachined before assembly and welding, and are then nish machined as a unit. The ygudgeons 125 are supported on each side in flanged cartridge ball bearings which are bolted to the inside of the side frames. The side frames have been omitted from the drawings for purposes of clarity, as previously noted.

The trolley control shaft 86 is positioned in the machine relative to the axis of the drag roller 124 in such a manner as to permit the trolley wheels 141 to contact the face of the drag roller 124 at approximately the mid-point in the webs total wrap on the face of the drag roller.

As shown in FIGURE 1, knurled sections 126 in the shape of rings have been machined on the face of the drag roller 124. These overlap the center line of each trolley wheel by approximately one inch laterally in both directions.

These knurled segments 126 are found to be helpful in controlling the web under certain conditions of press- -8 room temperature and humidity when running various classes of web materials, notably newsprint. These factors will be more fully explained in the description of the operation of the machine, immediately hereinbelow.

As shown in FIGURE 1, and schematically in FIG- URE 9, the basic components of the machine are arranged as follows. The pad cylinder 27 and punch cylinder 55 are positioned so that a vertical centerline drawn through their axis (FIGURE 9) would be nearly normal to web line 164 when the web is drawn in a straight line tangentially from the face of the drag roller 124 and through the nip 142 between the punch cylinder 55 and the pad cylinder 27.

When set for the simultaneous punching of live webs, the Webs 164a, b, c, d and e are drawn over a rack of ve idler rolls 163 and are brought together when Wrapped slightly or broken under the drag roller 124. The combined or unitized webs 164 are led from the drag roller 124 and through the nip 142 between the pad cylinder 27 and the punch cylinder 55. The webs 164 may then be led as desired to subsequent stations in the converting apparatus, such as slitters, folders, sheeters, or the like. The converting operations which conceivably may precede or follow the punching work performed by the punching apparatus are so numerous and varied as to permit only a passing mention in this application.

The pads 28 are located as desired in their holders in the pad cylinder 27, and the punches are snapped into their holders in the punch cylinder 55 in positions which correspond with the pad locations in the pad cylinder. In that particular embodiment of the invention which is being described in this specification, the punch and pad cylinders are geared together as shown in FIGURE 1, and are driven by an intermediate herringbone gear which takes its power from the main drive shaft of the printing equipment on which the invention is installed. This is done in order that the punching done by the apparatus may be continuously and exactly registered in the desired places on the finished printed pages which comprise the Webs 164 that are fed through the apparatus. The webs 164 are comprised of pages when they reach the apparatus of the invention in the sense that they are printed and numbered as pages by the printing stations which precede the punching apparatus in the conversion of the blank webs. In this particular application they will, following the punching by the apparatus of the invention, be formed, slit, cut, collected or collated, and folded into the more commonly accepted sense of the word pages, which will in fact then be the pages of a tabloid newspaper. These operations are in such common usage and so well known to those familiar with high speed web newspaper printing presses as to make their explanation and/or description here unnecessary.

An arrangement of automatic controls in the nature of relays, solenoid valves, timing devices, and switches is interlocked with the controls on the printing press on which the invention is installed. This control system is so arranged as to hold the nip 142 between the pad cylinder 27 and punch cylinder 55 open to its widest limit when the press run commences.

The cam 46 (FIGURE 1), control arm 45, and connected components of the trolley and trolley control apparatus shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, are arranged and adjusted so that as the nip 142 opens when the arm 8 is raised by the air cylinder 122, the trolley wheels remain engaged in contact with the drag roller 124 until the nip 142 is opened to approximately two-thirds of its maximum limits. At that point in the pad cylinders travel, the trolley wheels begin to move out of contact with `the drag roller 124, and because of differences in the effective moments in eccentrics 4, cam 46, and arm 84, the trolley wheels move away from the drag roller 124 more rapidly and therefore farther than does the pad cylinder 27 move from the punch cylinder 55 during the remainder of its travel. The net elfect of this multiplying linkage is that,

when the nip 142 is fully open, the trolley wheel tires 119 are actually farther from the drag roller 124 than is the pad cylinder 27 from the punch cylinder 55. This action is provided to permit rapid clearing and rethreading of the complete converting apparatus in the event of a high speed web breakage.

When the press run commences, the nip 142 is wide open as described previously. After the initial press ad justments such as those governing ink coverage and registration have been made, and while the press is being brought up to normal operating speed, air is introduced to the opposite or nip closing side of cylinder 122, and the nip 142 begins to close. The trolley wheel tires 119 begin at the same time moving rapidly toward the drag roller 124, and when the nip 142 has closed approximately one-third of its total travel, and before the points of the teeth in the punches 56 contact the webs 164, the trolley wheel tires 119 have contacted and will begin to exert pressure upon the webs 164 which are wrapped around the drag roller 124.

The nip 142 continues closing at a rate determined by the adjustment of a needle valve in the exhaust port on the opening end of cylinder 122. The closing rate can be controlled in any of a multitude of different ways. The method just described has proved to be convenient in this application.

As can be seen, with the multiplication of forces provided by the linkage between the nip closing eccentrics 4 and the trolley control system, by the time the nip 142 has closed fully the rocker arms 109 have long since reached the limit of their travel, and the spring 81 on the cam 46 side of the wrist pin block 83 has been forced into considerable compression between the wrist pin block 83 and the washer and stop nut 80a, 80. This compressive force is converted to torque by the wrist pin block 83 and applied through arm 84 as a moment about the axis of the trolley control shaft 86. This torque is transmitted through shaft 86, and acting through arms 95 and floating nuts 99, it draws shaft 101 downward. Shaft 101, as mentioned previously, is slip-fitted through pressure block 104. Therefore, since rocker arm 109 has reached the limit of its travel, pressure block 104 is for all practical purposes stationary, and when shaft 101 is drawn forcibly downward through pressure block 104, the washer 102 and stop nut 146 transmit considerable compressive force to spring 103. This compressive force is transmitted by pressure blocks 104 to the rocker arms 109, which in turn press the trolley wheels 119 against the webs 164 on drag roller 124 with greater force.

The pressure exerted on the webs 164 by the trollley wheels 119 can be adjusted during operation by the use of hand knobs 100 which control the pressures exerted by the individual trolley wheels. The total pressure exerted by all of the trolley wheels can be increased or decreased by adjusting nuts 80 on the connecting rod 79.

The nip opening 142 is universally adjustable. As a rule of thumb, the nip opening when punching ve webs would, before beginning the press run, be adjusted to clear six thicknesses of the same web material when fully closed against the closed limit stop screw, 3 in the eccentric housing support 1. Before making this adjustment, the operating nip control lug 7 would have been centered and secured between lugs 10 and operating nip adjustment screws 12.

After the press run commences, and the nip 142 has been closed to its tightest limit, as previously preset, the nip opening can be increased or decreased by adjusting the screws 12 and jam nuts 11, which are readily accessible from the top of the apparatus.

A greatly enlarged cross-section of the action of our punch and pad combination is illustrated in FIGURE 6. As shown, the punches have on their cutting edge a cornplete circle of teeth 155, which are shaped with various tooth forms depending upon the material to be punched, but always with approximately 72 teeth spaced evenly about the circumference of a punch which can be one inch in inside diameter. The teeth are always cut so that the diameter of a circle drawn through the root 154 of the teeth will be roughly 3% to 5% larger than the circle formed by the points 156 of the teeth. The teeth have been determined through extensive experimentation to be most effective when they are shaped in such manner that the depth of the tooth from point to effective root 157 is approximately equal to the total thickness of the web to be punched. In operation it has been found that the root of the tooth 154 must normally penetrate into the pad 28 to a depth equal to at least one and onehalf web thicknesses.

As shown in FIGURE 6, Vthe punch 56 is just entering the web for its first punch. The bore of the punch 158 is open. The punch continues to roll in contact with the pad, penetrating the web, punching the hole, and removing the waste punch-outs 159, as illustrated in FIG- URE 6A. While this action is seemingly very simple, it is not a complete cutting action in the strict sense of the word, and neither is it a tearing, shearing, or blanking action. Rather, the action of the punch is a complex combination of pin-point perforation Vfollowed by shearing to a depth where, in each web, the minuscule tabs which, at that instant in space and time when the foot of the tooth has penetrated to a point roughly approximate to in FIGURE 6, that is, about half-way thru the web, the minuscule tabs which continue to connect the waste punch-out 159 to the main body of the web 164 do not have suflicient strength to resist the ripping and tearing pressure being exerted by the pad 2S.

Because the effective outside diameter of the waste punch-outs 159 is equal to the root diameter of the punches, and larger than the bore 158 of the punches (due to curvature of the cylinder), an action occurs during the punching in which the waste punch-outs 159 are packed against each other quite solidly into the bore 158 of the punch 56. This packing action continues to repeat itself with each succeeding revolution of the punch and pad cylinders 27, 55 until the bore of the punch 158, and the bore behind it in the punch holder body, spacer, boss, and hollow journal, collectively designated waste disposal passage 71 (FIGURE 1) is packed full of waste punch-outs and continues packing. An action is then initiated in which, as each succeeding layer of five, or whatever number of waste punch-outs 159 is punched and packed into the mouth of the bore 158 in the punch, the waste punch-outs in the disposal passage 71 advance toward the hollow journal a distance equivalent to the thickness of the total just punched, and an equivalent number of waste punch-outs are discharged from the disposal passage and into the bore 70 of the punch cylinders hollow journal 54.

It is worthy of emphasis to note that, during punching, pad 28 is pierced by the teeth of punch 56, but this does not result in any permanent circular groove in the pad. Rather, there appears a hair-line crack where each tooth penetrates the pad, the resiliency of the pad material acting to effectively open and close as the punch goes in and out. This results in a wiping action which is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the greatly improved punching of which the present invention is capable.

As shown in FIGURE 1, rotary union 48 is screwed and secured into the journal end plug 49. Compressed air, in pressures which vary from low for light web materials to high for heavy web materials, is introduced into the bore 70 through this rotary union and end plug. The air flows through the hollow bore from the end plug 49 to the elbow 75 and through the bore 77 of elbow 75, pushing the waste punch-outs 159 along with it, and out through the waste disposal elbow to a suitable container. Elbow 75 is connected to the hollow bore through a suitable mounting flange 76. In flowing through bore 70, it is to be noted that the air reduces the pressure in disposal vr1 l passage 71 by a Venturi effect, withthe result that air will not blow out of disposal passage 71 even when it is empty of punch-outs 159.

The web is thus punched, the waste punch-outs are collected, and the waste punch-outs are neatly and eiciently carried through the side frames of t-he apparatus in waste disposal elbow 75.

It is to be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Having thus described the subject matter of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Device for simultaneously punching a plurality of flexible moving Webs that comprises,

a rotatable punching cylinder;

a rotatable pad cylinder in spaced parallel relationship to said punching cylinder; hollow punch means the inner surface of which define a passage therethrough and having a toothed cutting edge, said punch means being radially mounted in said punching cylinder with said cutting edge extending beyond the surface thereof; resilient pad means mounted in said pad cylinder and located therein so as to be directly exposed to said punching cylinder only near and yat the .point of closest approach between said pad means and said punch means, the surface of said pad means being flush with the surface of said pad cylinder; means capable of controlling the spaced relation between said cylinders to a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of said webs during operation of said device;

the extension of said cutting edge beyond the surface of said punching cylinder being such' as to penetrate said pad means at the point of closest approach between said cylinders;

means capable of removing punch-outs through the passage in said punch means; drive means capable of rotating said cylindersat a predetermined speed; andl k means capable of transporting webs under a predetermined tension between said cylinders at the point of closest approach therebetween and in a direction normal to the centerline between the axes of said punching cylinder and said pad cylinder.

2. The devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein said punch means comprise a hollow cylinder, the outer surface of said toothed cutting edge is beveled, the inside diameter of said cylinder is slightly larger at the root of the teeth of said cutting edge than at the points of said teeth, and the depth of said teeth is at least equal to the thickness of the webs to be punched.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said punch means and a plurality of said pad means are mounted in said respective cylinders.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said controlling means are actuated through an eccentric mounting on one of said cylinders.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said punch-out removing means comprise hollow journal means located about the axis of said punching cylinder and connecting with the passage in said punch means, and means capable of creating a owing stream of gas through said hollow journal, whereby punch-outs entering said journal from said passages are removed from the device.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said web transporting means comprise in part a drag roller and tensioning wheels between which said webs pass prior to passing between said punching and pad cylinders.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1', wherein said pad means are made of a polyurethane material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 564,899 7/1896 Rahm 83-482 1,276,881 8/1918 Cumfer et al. 83-344 1,797,278 3/1931 Weis et al 83-347 2,006,417 7/ 1935 Topping 83--920 2,141,492 12/1938 Southwick 83-116 2,182,744 12/1939 Ehrsam 83--98 2,183,722 12/1939 Newman 83-347 2,760,576 8/ 1956 Spencer v83-100 2,796,930 6/ 1957 Bennett 83-436 2,881,836 4/1959 Thiem et al. 83-436 3,126,777 3/1964 Shabram l83-347 WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examier.

yANDREW R. JUHASZ, Examiner. F. T YOST, Assistant Examiner. 

1. DEVICE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PUNCHING A PLURALITY OF FLEXIBLE MOVING WEBS THAT COMPRISES, A ROATABLE PUNCHING CYLINDER; A ROTATABLE PAD CYLINDER IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO SAID PUNCHING CYLINDER; HOLLOW PUNCH MEANS THE INNER SURFACE OF WHICH DEFINE A PASSAGE THERETHROUGH AND HAVING A TOOTHED CUTTING EDGE, SAID PUNCH MEANS BEING RADIALLY MOUNTED IN SAID PUNCHING CYLINDER WITH SAID CUTTING EDGE EXTENDING BEYOND THE SURFACE THEREOF; RESILIENT PAD MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID PAD CYLINDER AND LOCATED THEREN SO AS TO BE DIRECTLY EXPOSED TO SAID PUNCHING CYLINDER ONLY NEAR AND AT THE POINT OF CLOSEST APPROACH BETWEEN SAID PAD MEANS AND SAID PUNCH MEANS, THE SURFACE OF SAID PAD MEANS BEING FLUSH WITH THE SURFACE OF SAID PAD CYLINDER; MEANS CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING THE SPACED RELATION BE- 